Photo Source: Rosemary Alexander
This talented young thespian from Charlotte, North Carolina, pursuing his career in L.A. since 2007, nearly bursts with joy when talking about his work, his professional colleagues, his prospects for the future. That creative passion has led to a performance nod in this year's Garland Awards, for Montgomery's finely nuanced characterization of sweet but troubled gay teenager Kendall, the child of a fanatic born-again mother, in Del Shores' family drama "Yellow." In Back Stage, we wrote that Montgomery "takes the colorful role...to surprising places.... [His performance is] as warmly funny as it is poignant."
The actor has been continually enriching his résumé since moving to L.A. four years ago—appearing with such theater companies as The Production Company and Rogue Machine, obtaining TV gigs and commercials, and landing a regular role in the upcoming third season of Disney Channel's "Sonny With a Chance: So Random."
Montgomery admits that when he went to audition for "Yellow," he was embarrassed that he didn't know who writer-producer-director Shores was. "He worked with me during the audition, which is so rare," says Montgomery. "Del and I work from the same train of thought. We had the same teacher: Joan Darling."
As Montgomery recalls, "When I got home from the audition, I read the script of 'Yellow' and I cried. I totally cried. My mom had sent me a postcard of a full moon when I moved out here and told me to put it on my ceiling, and it's still there. I love full moons. I read the full-moon scene in 'Yellow' and told myself this was serendipitous. I knew I had to do the show. So I worked on that callback harder than anything I've worked on my entire life. I didn't leave the apartment for three days. I dressed like Kendall. I ate, slept, and breathed the script."
Montgomery says there was an immediate chemistry between him and Luke McClure, who played another teenager in the play: "When we read our scenes together during auditions, it was like the planets aligned, and everything was perfect in the world." Montgomery says he was in awe of all his fellow actors in the show, whom he terms "grade A."
From June 2010 through the show's closing in December, Montgomery was immersed in the creative world of Shores, basking in the terrific critical and audience responses for "Yellow." "The show changed my life in so many ways," says the actor. "As soon as casting directors found out I was in a Del Shores play, it instantly opened the door for more auditions. We did 100 shows. I'm the only actor who did all of them. I think 'Yellow' was a perfect, perfect project, and I can't thank God enough that he allowed me to be a part it."